I know that seems like an odd title for a blog post, but for the longest time, I’ve been hesitant about the value of social media for growing a business like ours. I can see why it works for retail or B-to-C business but for some reason I had doubts about using social media for growing a B-to-B service business. Personally, I would engage a firm like ours after getting to know the people in it or based on a referral from someone I trust, but I know not everyone does everything exactly as I do ;-).
That said, I’m putting my skepticism aside and jumping in with both feet! Those of you that got one of the 70-something LinkedIn invites I sent this morning probably know what I mean. (I just figured out how to import my contacts into LinkedIn).
We have dabbled in social media before, and even that may be a generous characterization. We realized that to be successful at this we needed help so we hired Response Marketing and have been very pleased. We’ve been reconnecting with old friends, clients, and acquaintances. I’ve already had multiple requests for conversations about how we could work with various firms. If nothing else, it’s a good reminder that we’re still around!
It’s certainly fun, and I truly enjoy connecting with people. As far as growing our business - I sincerely hope to be proven wrong!
Hi Judi,
ReplyDeleteI love to read people's thoughts on Social Media and how it can be applied to different businesses in different industries. I am not sure what Response Marketing has done for you in particular but getting results and ROI on something in all of the playing field of social media can be quite easy if worked properly. The worry of Social Media only working for B-to-C is simply just not looking at the facts. I like to tell my clients, you cannot tell me that your next biggest B-to-B Business owner is not on Facebook or Linkedin, their are 450 million people on Facebook alone, I am sure any company's target demographic is included.
With that said, good luck with your Social Media Marketing efforts! I would be happy to hear what progress is being made with the help of the firm you have hired.
Hi Harrison,
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed by the response and results to date. I've reconnected with business contacts I had not heard from in years and made some great new connections!
I think you're absolutely right - B-to-B companies need to be in the game too.
Judi